A clean-in-place (CIP) process is a cleaning technique adapted to remove soils from the internal components of industrial equipment, such as processing tanks, fluid lines, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, and other pieces of equipment. A CIP cleaning process cleans the internal surfaces of these components without the need to dismantle any of the components for individual cleaning. Rather, the components can be cleaned by passing a cleaning solution through the components, for example following a fluid path normally traveled by a fluid processed on the equipment, to clean the components.
Because of its ease of use and effectiveness, CIP cleaning processes have found widespread applicability in many different industries, particularly those industries where hygiene and sterility are of particular importance. Example industries that use CIP cleaning processes include dairy, beverage, brewing, processed food preparation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. In these and other industries, internal surfaces of processing equipment can become contaminated with soil during operation. To help ensure the operational efficiency of the processing equipment and to prevent soil buildup from contaminating product produced on the equipment, the processing equipment is periodically cleaned using a CIP process.
The number of cleaning steps performed during a CIP cleaning process can vary depending on the specific process being performed. At minimum, a cleaning solution is passed through the processing equipment before resuming normal processing. Any product subsequently passed through the equipment that becomes contaminated by cleaner residue can be discarded. More typically, a CIP cleaning process involves at least three steps. In the first step, which may be referred to as a pre-flush or pre-rinse step, a fluid such as fresh water is passed through the processing equipment to flush the system of soil (e.g., residual product in the equipment, product build-up on equipment internals). In the second step, which may be referred to as a cleaning step, a chemical solution is passed through the processing equipment to clean and sanitize the equipment. Finally, in the third step, a rinse liquid such as fresh water is passed through the processing equipment to rinse any residual cleaning solution from the equipment.